It is probably among the best things in life or at least in my life: Ride a bicycle with no plan or destination, just going no matter where, enjoying the adrenaline, looking at streets, parks, people, buildings and exploring locations. Then when you feel inspired or see a intriguing or interesting photo opportunity, do a small stop, admire what you are about to photograph, set your camera for a long exposure. Than wait patiently, admiring what you are photographing, feeling the place and relaxing, with nothing else in mind.

It is kind of a meditation which makes me feel light, calm and free. I used to do that a lot in Dublin, exploring all streets and parks. Than around Freiburg (Germany), specially in the Black Forest. I love and miss the mountains, the pure nature and the peaceful solitude.Now in Hamburg.

I can do it for a couple of hours or the entire day. It is nice to arrive home tired, but a kind of gratifying tiredness after cycling and photographing. prepare a nice fresh meal and watch Netflix before going to bed, with all the peace in mind and relaxing feeling from the cycling and photographing day.

Or depending on how early I arrive home, develop my film negatives before cooking and Netflix. Then admire the images on the negative hanging and drying before go to bad with some nice memories of the day.

This is a perfect piece of life, and would be a perfect life if I could do my day free whenever I wanted to do it.

My first photographs of plants and still life was made with digital camera in 2008. They are long lost as most of my digital photographs because of computer crash. But I had concluded a project called ‘from death to life’ from which I made my first self publishing book in 2009.

Those digital still life of plants was similar to the very first photo you will see inside this book, with shallow depth of field in order to have the end of the plant in focus and everything else gradually out of focus. I used this technical characteristic as representation of creation, that comes from nothing but pure energy to become matter or body.

After a while, instead of photograph plants in parks I bought plants and flowers from flower shops near home, so I could photograph them with modelling light at home. This was also a time when I was transiting from digital to analogue photography, often work on experiments as well as exploring the technical possibilities of artificial light and light modifiers.

To hold the plants and flowers still in the vertical I used bottles. At the beginning my intention was to have only plants in my photographs, focusing on theirs shapes and textures as representation of individual expression and personality. The bottles inspired me later on to try something new, by including them in the photographs as representation of a person body, while plants coming out of it as the body or the person feeling expression.

My still photographs developed afterwards including food and others objects as personal material possession or desires. And then masks, to represent what we first see and judge from people as well what people hides from others and from themselves.

Marcio Faustino Still Life

In all, these photographs are about human feelings, interaction and expression. Of course it includes the expression of pain and pleasure that gave me the idea to use candles fire and its melted wax on bottles.

It is interesting to notice that the interpretation you may get from the images and the symbolic elements in it are completely free. Some people will have a more romantic look at it, perceiving melted wax as tears for example, flowers as just beautiful innocent feeling expression, fruits as wealth and so on. Some other people will see such elements with other eyes, looking at melted wax on bottle as orgasm, in some images associating flowers to vulva, bottle to phallus and relating fruits to pleasure and sin, specially apples. Food symbolizing wealth may be seen as positive individual aspect or as corruption of individual in society.

Whatever interpretation you may give to such elements or perceive from them, I consider them all valid and fascinating. I actually like its ambiguity and I consider all interpretation right, free and beautiful so far, even the sexualized ones.

The book follow the chronological development of my still photographs made in a period of 6 Years and divided in 5 parts in the book.

You can obtain the book in my Lulu.com store. It has a release discount of 20% for the months of February and March 2017.

​Recently I rediscovered some drawings and paintings I had uploaded in a art community about 10 years ago. I never was good at painting and drawing. I actually haven't spent long enough time painting in order to be good at it. It was also just a short phase drawing after many years without attempting it since I was very young.

Looking now at them makes me happy to remember some of my inspirations from the past which I believe has some roots until nowadays.

Most of theses drawings I made in the middle of the night, in a time when I had big troubles to sleep and almost everyday I had nightmares. So drawing helped me to forget about my thoughts and dreams.

​Now I keep thinking about on trying paintings and draw again, but I don't know if I am too lazy to try or if my mind is telling me that I know will suck at it and sure I will be disappointed if I attempt it

The prevalent sensation of oneself as a separate ego enclosed in a bag of skin is a hallucination which accords neither with Western science nor with the experimental philosophy-religions of the East. Perhaps we see ourselves like this in order to hide, because behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and thoughts, as language can be a way of hiding your thoughts and preventing communication said Abraham Maslow.

This is why André Malraux said that man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides. So we have the anxiety to communicate and express ourselves to others, because we can only know and picture ourselves in society in relation to others. So that artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide according to D.W. Winnicott.

“A creature that hides and “withdraws into its shell,” is preparing a “way out.” This is true of the entire scale of metaphors, from the resurrection of a man in his grave, to the sudden outburst of one who has long been silent. If we remain at the heart of the image under consideration, we have the impression that, by staying in the motionlessness of its shell, the creature is preparing temporal explosions, not to say whirlwinds, of being.” ― Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

When you see well you don’t see your eyes, when you hear well you don’t hear your ears, you see and hear unaware of your own eyes and ears. But if you see spots on your vision or if you have tinnitus, than you are aware of your eyes and ears because they are getting in the way of your vision and hearing, meaning your vision and hearing is not as good.

On the deepest level, a person as a whole can get in the way of their own existence by becoming too aware of themselves, lacking their quality then. Like when I play guitar well when on my own, but I can’t help making several mistakes when paying guitar if there is somebody watching me playing, because the spectator makes me aware of myself. So I am there, blocking my own way, by looking at me doing what I am doing, following instructions in my head on how to play it right and how to make it sounds good, but the result is the opposite.

The quality of not being in your own way is what we see from some artists, working on their art in a state of a wave, not even thinking about or how they are doing what they do, but just doing it, following no instruction or rules. When we see such artists we feel it because it feels and looks pure, natural, freely as if the artist is unaware of themselves and as if unaware of anybody else who may be watching, giving the impression they are playing for no audience and no gallery, just like a baby playing or dancing. Or even deeper, as if a natural force from who knows where is passing through the artist and expressing itself, for no reason at all but only being itself.

This is why tribal and ancient rituals are usually celebrated with dance and music display, from which they believed that God or any other spirit could be seen from the dancer and musician in trance state. Then the dancer and musician is not there any more, what the public believed to see was God and they shouted god’s name. This is why we hear people shouting “ole” during flamenco dance and flamenco music display, which many believe it comes from the Arabic “Allah” meaning God. They brought such tradition to Spain when the Moors, an Islamic tribe from north Africa, invaded and dominated Spain for about 500 years during middle age.

So we are the best of ourselves when we are not in our own way. We can actually say when we operate as if we are not there, so it is not our act but the cosmic act leading us. Because every thing that you experience in the extension of your senses field is a state of your brain. Electric imposes from the external world.

Alan Watts said, if you want to see what is inside of your head keep your eyes open. Because everything outside your head in actually your brain interpretation of what your senses catch. We could say that our brain creates what we believe to be the reality outside our head. What we see outside is actually inside our head, is what you feel inside your head as if the outside is your brain itself.

This mean the emptiness of one head is the condition of seeing. “Because my eyes have no colours, it is able to decent colours”. Meaning, being absent is the condition of being present. You and everything else as one and nothing between, like an artist operating his tools as being part of their own body.

When your belt and shoes are conformable you don’t feel them, as if you aren’t wearing them, or as if they are part of your own body as one piece. On the other hand, the more aware you are about your belt and shoes, the less properly they are made or the less they fit.

But this comes with an abjection:If I don’t know I am there, I may be missing something.We want to know what we know. If you are happy and you don’t know it you are happy then you might just as well not be happy. To be happy and know it is what we want. On the other hand, you can be miserable and not know you are miserable.

More than being happy, if it is not happiness itself, what we all want to do is to dance as if there was no audience, not even ourselves, so we can be free and natural, like a baby or an artist in peace with themselves, because they are not there, empty of themselves and fulfilled with the world as one.

This demands trust your own mind. If you don’t, you keep aware of yourself and walking around in opposite direction of yourself. Most people don’t trust their mind because they feel if they are not there, something may happen to them.

When human beings developed the cortex over the original brain, becoming aware of themselves (to know that you know), they felt from their own grace, feeling the sensation of being in charge and control of themselves, which you only have when you are aware of what you are doing. Then, they got anxious worried if they are enough aware of themselves or missing something. “Have I take enough facts in consideration?”, “Have I done all that should be done?”. Like this they started troubling.

When you are aware of yourself you act. Act to see yourself the way you want be seen by yourself and everybody else. You become your on actor and spectator. With a highly developed cortex every thing is a big act and every body wear phones (ancient theatre Greek mask made in a shape in order to amplifies the actor voice).

When you are not in your on way you don’t choose, you just do because you know already what to do without thinking about, since you can see everything with nothing between.

​People talk about the freedom of choice, but in a whole choice doesn’t mean freedom but hesitation. If you have to choose it is because you are hesitating. If you know what to do you don’t choose but simply do. Just like an artist playing without thinking about what they are doing but just doing. Not looking outside but inside and therefore everything.

I have photographed many kind of people, from experienced professional models to completle amateur who feel not very confortable in front of the camera. Often I rather photograph no experienced models or even no models instead of experienced models.

I came upon this subject in a photography community, where somebody started talking about how to direct unesperienced models, and as usually happens in such communities photographers talk about how better it is to photograph experienced models.

In fact, very experienced models is usually easier to work with. Depending on what you are photographing they don't need much direction. They know very well their best angles, poses, body composition and they catch very fast the mood and pourpose of the image the photographer is after.

Of course I also like to work with experienced models, but my photo shoot style is not like most photographers, trying to catch models poses while they display poses after other. They do like this so they can pick the best they got afterwards.

The way I do is by working on specific poses and ideas for each photo I do. I got an idea for the photo and I want the model to work on the pose in order to me photograph it in a single shot. I don't press the camera shutter realease until I see exactly what I want. Some how, it is easier for me to model unesperienced models for what I want than experienced models.

I supose the reason to be easier for me with unesperienced models is the fact that they don't have standards poses styles catalogued in their memory and experiences. Experienced models very often work on their usual poses that maybe always works for most photographers, since they are poses that reminds what they see in magazines and advertisement. Most photographers and models want results that look like what they see done in the industry.

It also may be the fact that I enjoy directing and modelling models. It is the moment I actually explore the model who I am photographing, one of the reasons I enjoy photography so much.

Whatever the reason is, turns out the less experienced the model, the better I like the results and the more I enjoy shooting. I prefer looking for my models in the streets and amoung people I know, than in model agencies and model communities.

Of couse that experienced and professional does not always mean good model. I actually have photographed many experienced and professional models who I don't found they where good. Specilly if you are the type who look for out of standards.

Actors and Dancers (or models with acting and classic dance background) are the kind of people who I consider much better models than avarege professional photography models. They are much better with face and body expression, poses and movments. At least for my way to photograph and my style of photos.

Avarege profissional models is good for me when I am working on avarege and standards photo look and style. Meaning the comercial look you see around with those poses we usually see, and what they are the best at...

Sometimes I meet people who ask me why I do what I do with film negative cameras, or with pinhole cameras, and I have already wrote about film negative qualities and so on.

Now am going to talk about the experience, because I believe that most what we do for pleasure is not only because of the result, but essentially because of the process.

Like sports, the joy of playing a sport is not only because of the score at the end of the game, but the game.

So it is not the destination only, but the path experience that matters. We want experience our abilities, our knowledge, our creativity and skills.

I used to enjoy a lot photographing with digital camera. Digital is how I started anyway. And when we are working with a tool, we are enjoying the manipulation of it, as well the characteristics of the too that allows ous to work, and influence the final result.

But after moving to film photography, the digital photography experience seemed not as joyfulany more. Because digital is too fast and too... digital. The joy I have with film negative is the slow process and more experience from manual manipulation, skill and knowledge of the tool.

Second, analogue photography allows us to work with hard media, that is the film negative load and unload, developing and printing. The pleasure of manipulate the object of your creation with your hands. While digital is working with digital information, being manipulated through computers and buttons. It is a photography that don't actually exhibit until (and if) you print it (through a computer).

It means, unless I am photographing for something that demands the convenience of digital technology my serious stuff I do with analog photos, which is the 99% of what I photograph.

When I photograph with digital, no matter if I am shooting with a professional DSLR, on my hands it feels as a toy that don't create anything tangible to handle, but to transfer to a computer, to play with the convenience and the easiest way, like toys.

I don't mean that digital photography is inferior or childish. What I mean is that it is so easy, convenience and fast, that I don't feel actually working and enjoying the fullness of my skills and experiences.

The process appreciation and experience is important to me, and I believe it is also important for the result of what I do.

The ƒ/D Book of Pinhole shows shows images from photographers worldwide, showcasing the unique aesthetic of pinhole photography.

While photobooks are a great way to collect photography, the pinhole photography community is greatly under-represented on bookshelves. In response, we ran a call for entry asking photographers to show us what they've seen through a pinhole. We received an overwhelming response from around the world.In all, the book features 60 black & white and 39 color photos. The photographs represent techniques that demonstrate the “pinhole look” in general as well as the unique ways in which pinhole works with motion and time, bent film planes, infrared, and other techniques and formats.

​The book will contain:

99 pinhole photos: 60 B&W, 39 color

Introductory text and descriptions of the techniques used to produce the photos throughout the book

A directory of the photographers included in the book, so that you can find more work by your favorites

The book will be printed to these exacting standards:

Offset printing - the standard for the highest quality books

100# paper - paper nerds know that's good stuff

Soft cover - made from heavy cover stock

8 inches X 8 inches - not too big, not too small!

Over 140 pages total - lotsa photos! Technique intros!

​

​For the curious, it serves as a great introduction into pinhole as well as providing a visual roadmap for your creative exploration. For the experienced pinhole photographer, the book provides inspiration and ideas to continue your journey. For lensed photographers, this visual journey shows new ways to approach photographic image making and what can be done with a long exposure.For photography collectors, the book will include a directory of included photographers and info on where to find more of their work.

After photographing Hamburg with panoramic pinhole camera, and after publishing the book with panoramic images, I decided to focus on my pinhole portraits and have them also published in a book. Later on I came back to the streets and now this is the third book being published with pinhole photographs, again with images of Hamburg, but this time on a square format.

I do walk a lot. I like explore places and walk with no planning direction or destination. Hamburg is a very beautiful city, with a lot of parks, canals, bridges and building styles. To Photograph is a way to appreciate the city as well as meditation, specially when I am alone.

It was my first time photographing with a square format camera, which felt odd to me after being used to work with panoramic camera. But the feel and effect from the very wide angle got my curiosity on keep trying looking for results I could get. It has such dynamic on it.

I have being photographing in two languages. The first one is the demanding language about the materialistic and tangible realism, that publicity and entertainment has being influencing the public as standard quality, although its quality is mainly on its technical aspect but empty essence, and which I have being trying to work less with.

The second one is the language referring to the world of ideas. The kind of work that when we look at, it gives a tick, and suddenly we are nowhere and everywhere, as if the time has stopped and is restrained in the work itself. This is what I have being looking for and its is not an easy task.

What most people haven't realized yet, is that the media has a lot to do about the message content. As Nail Postman once said, "technology is the biggest ideology of all". This is the main reason I photograph with analog cameras and pinhole. It is not about being wistful but about what Cicero would call the avoidance of the sense corruption. After all, soon or later we always go back to our roots, looking for something left behind. Specially when a culture becomes dominated by entertainment language.

The good thing about working with artists, in this case a musician, is that they understand as nobody else your creative vision and experiments. So I was happy with the talk I had with David Nesselhauf during the photo shoot.

He brought with him an old bass that, as he described, had a distorted sound which he likes.​

For this photo I used a Bessa I, a folding camera from 40’s that shoot a 6x9 frame. Such big film negative frame is almost a large format. The larger the film negative the higher dynamic range and some others qualities.

Nesselhauf said the has a stoned look in the photos. Part of the image look is from the film negative characteristic. The negative I used to take this photo was a Fomapan 200, which has old formula to give a kind a old and very particular look. Other influences of the image look is the characteristic of the lens and negative size as described above.

I am talking here of this digital image, scanned from a film negative. When digitalized, the scanned image always looses some qualities, less dynamic range and tonal range. But we still can feel the quality that is left if we pay attention to it. The traditional prints, made traditionally with light from film negatives are of course much more rich and alive than images on screen.

For this reason, I would not call it as stoned look but more real, or more alive, look of the image.

This is the reason I like my old cameras. They are not as fast to shoot and convenient as digital cameras. No auto focus or sometimes no focusing screen, meaning that we can’t adjust the focus looking at viewfinder but by measuring the distance from the subject. No reviewing image so we can only see the result after develop the negative and make the image positive. Limited frames per negative roll meaning I can’t shoot like Rambo. But by giving up convenience I gain on the image quality of bigger negatives and old lenses quality has to offer. The convenience of a higher tonal range and latitude from film negatives, and so on. There are many advantages on photographing with film negatives and old cameras.

Many people get surprised when they see I can fire modern speed lights and flash strobes with my old cameras, with the advantage of high sync speed and leaf shutter of film cameras. Despite of that, unfortunately there are still many people who think old tool cannot deliver a good result, when actually it is the contrary. And the prejudice as “over dated” photographer goes on.

Marketing is still the most important investment that any photographer has to think of, in order to earn a living with their photography. It means that showing up to a photo shoot with a fast, impressive and modern digital camera is becomes as important as wearing a suit and nice shoes. Fortunately, in this aspect, I don’t worry much about marketing so I can focus more on the quality I am after and the tools I need and enjoy work with, which makes it harder for me to actually gain customers for my photographs and trust, but on the other hand I am way happier with the activity as creative work and particular results.

Nesselhauf as creative musician could understand my way of work and creative process, he actually told me he looked for my work because of it, which made the shooting easy and relaxed for both of us.

He just released his new album called Afrokraut. You can check out on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/davidnesselhauf/